“Light from the Lake” is a blog about the inspirational people of Our Lady of the Lake University. It is about students who serve their community, alumni who shape the city, faculty and staff who influence the next generation of leaders, and the Congregation of Divine Providence that founded and sponsors OLLU today. It is about a University community that turned a four-alarm fire in 2008 into a catalyst for growth and renewal. The blog is written by Ken Rodriguez, an award-winning journalist and marketer at OLLU and freelance writer.

Note: This is an mySA.com City Brights Blog. These blogs are not written or edited by mySA or the San Antonio Express-News. The authors are solely responsible for the content.

The Pope and the President

share an intriguing — if coincidental — set of biographical details that span more than three-quarters of a century.

Slater, the new president of Our Lady of the Lake University, and Bergoglio, the new pope of the Roman Catholic Church, are trained chemists and former educators, each 76-years-old. They served in large urban Archdioceses before assuming their current positions of leadership, just weeks apart.

Pope Francis speaks English and Spanish (and French and German). The president speaks English and Spanish (and studied French and Latin). The pope once served as a professor of literature and psychology; the president once served as a professor of chemistry.

The pope likes to dance. The president likes to dance. The pope did the “Tango” back in the day. The president danced to the music of Mariachis at OLLU on Tuesday. But that’s not all.

“I love country and western dancing,” she says. “I like line dancing. It’s really hard for me to go to an event where there is dancing and I have to sit there. I hate it. I want to be out there dancing.”

The pope and the president are well educated. The pope has three degrees (chemistry, philosophy and theology). The president has two degrees (a bachelor’s in chemistry, a doctorate in inorganic chemistry).

The pope and the president made sacred decisions as young adults. Brother Bergoglio joined the Jesuits at 21. Sister Slater professed her vows at 20.

The pope rode the bus in South America. The president rode the bus in North America.

“We did that a lot in the early years when we had to go to town,” Sister Slater says.

The pope and the president today have nontraditional modes of transportation. He rides in the Popemobile. She rides in an OLLU blue Toyota Prius.

The pope has a past that causes eyes to widen. The president has a past that does the same.

In his youth, Bergoglio worked as a bar bouncer. He even had a girlfriend, with whom he often danced the Tango.

In her youth, Sister Slater enjoyed softball and tackle football. “I had a natural knack for softball,” she says. “And I played football until I was probably in sixth grade. One afternoon, I got tackled. A shoulder went into my legs and I thought, ‘This hurts. I’m not going to do this anymore.’”

The pope and the president love sports. According to catholicculture.org, “Pope Francis is an avid and very knowledgeable soccer fan. …” The website reports that the pope cheers Argentina’s Atletico San LorenzoClub, holds season tickets and occasionally talks strategy with the players.

Sister Slater, meanwhile, cheers the OLLU Saints and is an avid San Antonio Spurs fan. Twice after the Spurs won NBA championships, she walked with sisters from the Congregation of Divine Providence to the corner of 24th Street and Commerce to celebrate.

“We were out high-fiving people,” Sister Slater says. “We would get people to honk. We would wave our arms and legs. We stayed there for an hour. It was so much fun.”

The president says she doesn’t know too much about the pope. But she admires his devotion to the poor and the way he connects with others. “We both love people,” she says. “He might have some extrovert qualities. I’m an off-the-wall extrovert. Interacting with people is easy. It energizes me.”

The pope and the president are humble enough to ask for help. After his election, the pope appeared in a window above St. Peter’s Square and said, “Pray for me.” At her blessing and commissioning ritual in Sacred Heart Chapel, the president said, “Pray for me.”

The pope and the president are popular choices to lead. From San Antonio to Rome, the people are saying, “Amen.”